tow MERCEDES-BENZ M-CLASS SUV 2011 User Guide

Sea
tbelt adjustment The seat-belt adjustment func
tion adjusts the
driver's and front-passenger seat belt to the
upper body of the occupants.
The belt strap is tighte neds lightly when:
R you engage the belt tongue in the belt
buckle and you then turn the key to position
2 in the ignition lock.
R the key is in position 2in the ignition lock
and you then engage the belt tongue in the
buckle.
The seat-belt adjustment will apply acertain
tightening force if any slack is detected
between the occupant and the seat belt. Do
not hold on to the seat belt tightly while it is
adjusting. You can switc hthe seat-belt
adjustment on and off in the on-boar dcom-
puter (Y page 251).
The seat-belt adjustment is an integra lpart of
the PRE-SAFE ®
convenience function. More
information about PRE-SAFE ®
can be found
in the "PRE-SAFE ®
(preventative occupant
protection)" section (Y page 45).
Belt height adjustment You can adjust the seat belt height on the
driver' sseat and the front-passenger seat. Adjust the height so that the upper part of the
seat belt is routed across the centre of your
shoulder. X
To raise: slide the belt sash guide upwards.
The belt sash guide engages in various posi-
tions.
X To lower: press and hold belt sash guide
release :.
X Slide the belt sash guide downwards.
X Release belt sash guide release :and
mak esure that the belt sash guide has
engaged.
Releasing seat belts X
Press release button ?(Ypage 47) and
guide belt tongue ;back towards belt
sash guide :.
! Make sure that the seat belt is fully rolled
up. Otherwise, the seat belt or belt tongue
will be trapped in the door or in the seat
mechanism. This could damage the door,
the door trim panel and the seat belt. Dam-
aged seat belts can no longer fulfil their
protective function and must be replaced.
Consult aMercedes-Benz Servic eCentre.
Belt warning for driver and front
passenger The
7 seat belt warning lam pint he instru-
men tcluster is areminder for all occupants
to fasten their seat belts. It may light up con-
tinuously or flash. In addition ,there ma ybea
warning tone.
The 7 seat belt warning lamp goes out and
the warning tone ceases when the driver and
the front passenge rhave fastened their seat
belt.
For certain countries only: regardless of
whethe rthe driver or the front passenger
hav efastened their seat belts, the 7seat
belt warning lamp lights up for six seconds
after the engine is started. It then goes out if
the driver and the front passenger have fas-
tened their seat belts.
i For more information on the 7seat
belt warning lamp, see "Warning and indi- 48
Occupant safetySafety

cator lamps in the instrument cluster, se
at
belt" (Y page284).
Rear seat belt status indicator Th
er ear-com partment se at belt status indi-
cator tells you if the rear passengers have
their seat belts fastened.
The rear-compartment seat belt status indi-
cator indicates the rear seat on which the belt
is fastened. The üsymbol in the display
indicates afastened seat belt. If aseat belt is
not fastened or if aseat is not occupied, the
ý symbol is displayed.
The rear-compartment seat belt status indi-
cator appear sint he multifunction displa yfor
around 30 seconds if:
R you drive off and reach aspeed of approx-
imately 10 km/h.
R the rear passengers fasten or unfasten
their seat belts while the vehicle is in
motion.
R someon egets in or out of the vehicle and
the vehicle drives off again.
You can also can celthe rea rseat belt status
indicator immediately (Y page 253).
i The status indicator for the rear- compart-
ment seat belts is onl yavailable for certain
countries.
Bel ttensioners, belt force limiters The fron
tseat belts and the outer seat belts
in the rear are equipped with belt tensioners.
The belt tensioners tighten the seat belts in
an accident, pullin gthem close against the
body.
Belt tensioner sdonot correct incorrect seat
positions or incorrectly faste neds eat belts.
Belt tensioners do not pull vehicle occupants
back towards the back rest.
If the seat belt is also fitted wit habelt for ce
limiter and this is triggered, the forc eexerted
by the sea tbelt on the vehicle occupan tis
red uced. Th
eb elt force limiters on the front seats are
synchroni sedw ith the front airbags .They
tak eonap art of the deceleratio nforce,
resultin ginthe force exerted on the occupant
being distributed over agreater are a.
The belt tensioners can only be activated
when:
R the ignition is switched on.
R the restraint systems are operational; see
"SRS warning lamp" (Y page 41).
R the front-passenger seat is occupied and
the belt tongue is engaged in the buckle on
the front-passenger side.
The belt tensioners on the outside seats in the
rear compartment are triggered independ-
ently of the lock status of the seat belts.
The belt tensioners are triggered depending
on the type and severit yofanaccident:
R if, in the event of ahead-on or rear-en dcol-
lision, the vehicle decelerates or acceler-
ates rapidly in alongitudinal direction dur-
ing the initial stages of the impact
R if, in the even tofaside impact, on the side
opposit ethe impac tthe vehicle deceler-
ates or accelerates rapidly in alateral direc-
tion
R if in certain situations where the vehicle
overturns and the system determines that
it can provide additional protection
If the airbags are deployed, you will hear a
bang, and asmall amount of powder may also
be released. Only in rare cases will th ebang
affect your hearing. The powde rthat is
released generally does not constitute a
healt hhazard. The 6SRS warning lamp
lights up. G
WARNING
If the seat belt tensioners have been trig-
gered, they provide no additional protection
in the event of another accident. Therefore,
have belt tensioners which have been trig-
gered replaced at aqualified specialist work-
shop. Occupant safety
49Safety
Z

X
To sto pthe alarm using the key: insert
th ek ey into the ignition lock.
The alarm is switched off.
or
X Pres sthe % or& button on the key.
The alarm is switched off.
X To stop th ealarm using KEYLESS-GO:
grasp the outside door handle. The key
must be outside the vehicle.
The alarm is switched off.
or
X Press the Star t/Stopbutton on the dash-
board. The key must be inside the vehicle.
The alarm is switched off. Tow-away protection
An audible and visual alarm is triggered if your
vehicle's angle of inclination is altered while
tow-away protection is primed. This occurs if
the vehicle is jacked up on one side ,for exam-
ple.
X To pri me:lock the vehicle with the key or
KEYLESS-GO.
Tow-away protection is primed after
approximately 30 seconds.
X To deactivate: unlock the vehicle with the
key or KEYLESS-GO.
Tow-away protection is deactivated auto-
matically.
To prevent afalse alarm, deactivate tow-away
protection manually if your vehicle:
R is being transported
R is being loade donto aferr yorc ar trans-
porter, for example
R is parked on amovable surface, e.g. in a
split-leve lgarage
Deactivating:
X Remove the key from the ignition lock. X
Press button :.
Indicator lamp ;lights up briefly.
X Lock the vehicle with the key or KEYLE SS-
GO.
Tow-awa yprotectio nisdeactivated.
Tow-away protection remains deactivated
until:
R the vehicle is unlocked again.
R ad oor is opened and closed again.
R the vehicle is locked again. Interior motion sensor
If the interior motion sensor is primed, avis-
ual and audible alarm is triggered if move-
ment is detected in the vehicle interior while
the vehicle is locked. This occur sifsomeone
reaches int othe vehicle interior, for example.
To activate:
X Make sur ethat the side windows and the
slidin gsunroof/panorama sliding sunroof
are closed.
This will prevent false alarms.
X The interior motion senso risp rime dafter
approximately 30 seconds.
To switch off:
X Unlock th evehicle with the key or KEY-
LESS-GO.
The interior motion sensor is deactivated
automatically. Anti-theft systems
69Safety Z

the doors from ins
idethe vehicle. Deactivate
the interio rmotion sensor (Y page 69)before
you lock the vehicle. The doors can then be
opened from the inside after the vehicle has
been locked from the outside.
You can only open the rear doors from inside
the vehicle if they are not secured by the
child-proof locks (Y page 60).X
Pull door handle ;.
If the door is locked, locki ngknob :pops
up. The doo risu nlocke dand can be
opened. Centrally lockin
gand unlocking the
vehicle from th einside
You can cen trally lock or unlock the vehicle
from the inside.
The central locking/unlocking button does
not lock or unlock the fuel filler flap.
The button sare locate donboth front doors.
i You can notu nlock the vehicl ecentrally
from the inside if the vehicle has been
locked with the key or KEYLESS-GO.
i It is only possible to lock the vehicle cen-
trally if the front-passenger door is closed. X
To unlock: press button :.
X To lock: press button ;. Automatic locking mechanism
The vehicle is locked automatically when the
ignition is switched on and the wheels are
turning.
You could therefor ebelockedout when:
R the vehicle is being pushed.
R the vehicle is being towed.
R the vehicle is being tested on adynamom-
eter. X
To deactivate: press and holdbutton :
for about five seconds until atones ounds.
X To activate: press and hold button ;for
about fiv eseconds until atones ounds.
i If you press one of the two button sand
do not hea ratone, the relevant setting has
already been selected. 78
DoorsOpening and closing

Usefu
linfor mation ............................ 138
Running-in notes ............................... 138
Driving ............................................... 138
Automati ctran smission ................... 145
Refuelling ........................................... 152
Parking ............................................... 160
Driving tips ........................................ 162
Driving systems ................................ 170
Off-road driving systems ..................220
Towing atrailer ................................. 226 137Driving
and parking

A
Neutral
Do not shift the transmiss
ionto N
whil edriving. Otherwise, th eauto-
matic transmission could be dam-
aged.
No powe ristransmitte dfromt he
engine to the drive wheels.
Releasing the brakes will allo wyou
to move the vehicl efreely, e.g .to
push it or tow it.
If ESP ®
is deacti vated or faulty:
only shift the transmission to posi-
tion Nif the vehicle is in dange rof
skidding, e.g. on icy roads.
If you swit choff the engin eusing
the key or the Start/Stop but ton,
the automatic transmission shifts
to neutral Nautomatically.
! Rolling in neutral Ncan lead to
damage to the transmission. 7
Drive
The automatic transmission
changes gear automatically. All
forward gears are available. Changin
ggear
The automatic transmission shift stothe indi-
vidual gear sautomatically when it is in trans-
missio nposition D.This automatic gearshift-
ing behaviour is determined by:
R ap ossible limitation of the shift range
R the selected drive program
R the position of the accelerator pedal
R the roa dspeed Driving tips
Accelerator peda lposition Your style of drivin
ginfluences how the auto-
matic transmissio nshift sgear:
R littl ethrot tle: earl yupshifts
R mor ethrot tle: late upshifts
Kickdown Use kickdown for maximu
macceleration.
X Depress the accelerato rpedal beyond the
pressur epoint.
The transmission shift stoalower gear
depending on the engin espeed.
X Ease off the accelerator pedal once the
desired speed is reached.
The automatic transmission shifts back up.
Trailer towing X
Drive in the middle of the engine speed
range on uphill gradients.
X Shift down to shift range 3or
2 (Y page 150) depending on the uphill or
downhill gradient, even if cruise control,
DISTRONIC PLU SorSPEEDTRONIC is acti-
vated. Progra
mselector button
General notes The program selector button allow
syou to
choose between differen tdriving character-
istics. 148
Automatic transmissionDri
ving and parking

X
Unscre wthe cap from the opening on top
of AdBlue ®
refill canister ;.
X Plac edisposable hose :on the opening
of AdBlue ®
refill canister ;and screw it
on clockwise until hand-tight.
i Disposable hose :remains closed until
you fasten disposable hose :to the
AdBlue ®
filler neck of the vehicle. X
Place disposable hose :on the filler neck
on the vehicle and screw it on clockwise
until hand-tight. When you feel resistance,
disposable hose :is sufficiently secured.
! Do not tighten disposable hose :with
too muc hforce. Disposabl ehose :may
otherwise be destroyed.
X Lif tu pa nd tip AdBlue ®
refill canister ;.
i Filling stops whe nthe AdBlue ®
tan kis
completely fille d.Do no tfill the AdBlue ®
tank any further. AdBlue ®
refill canis-
ter ;can be removed when it has been
only partially emptied. X
Turn disposable hose :on the filler neck
of the vehicle anti-clockwise and remov eit.
X Turn disposable hose :on the opening of
AdBlue ®
refill canister ;anti-clockwise
and remove it.
X Reseal AdBlue ®
refill canister ;with the
cap.
AdBlue ®
refill bottle AdBlue
®
refill bottle scan be obtained at many
filling stations or at aMercedes-Benz Service
Cent re.R efill bottles without athreaded seal
offer no protection against overfilling.
AdBlue ®
could leak out as aresult of overfill-
ing. Mercedes-Ben zoffers special refi llbot-
tles with athrea deds eal. You can obtain
these from any Mercedes-Ben zService
Centre. X
Unscrew the protectiv ecap from AdBlue ®
refill bottle :.
X Place AdBlue ®
refill bottle :on the filler
neck as sho wn andscre witonh and-tight.
! Screw on the AdBlue ®
refill bottle only
hand-t ight.Itm ay other wise be destroyed.
X Press AdBlue ®
refil lbottle : toward sthe
fille rneck.
The AdBlue ®
tank is filled. Thi scould last
up to one min ute.
i Whe nAdBlue ®
refill bottle :is no longer
pressed, filling stops and the bottle may be
taken off again after being only partially
emptied. Refuelling
159Drivingand parking Z

X
Release AdBlue ®
refill bottle :.
X Turn AdBlue ®
refill bottle :anti-clockwise
and remove it.
X Screw the protective cap onto AdBlue ®
refill bottle :again.
Closing th eAdBlue ®
filler cap and fuel
filler flap X
Fit AdBlue ®
filler cap ;on the filler neck
and tur nitclockwise.
X To close th efuel filler flap ,press it in the
di rectio nofarrow:.
X Drive faster than 15 km/h.
The Refill AdBlue See Owner' sMan‐ ual messag
egoeso ut after approximately
on em inute.
i If the Refill AdBlue See Owner's Manual messag
eremain sinthe mu ltifunc-
tion display, you mus ttop up with more
AdBlue ®
. Parking
Important safety notes
G
WARNING
Only remove the key from the ignition lock
when the vehicle is stationary, as you can not
steer the vehicle when the key is removed.
Never leav echildren unsupervised in the vehi-
cle. They might release the electric parking
brake. This coul dlead to aserious or fatal
accident. G
WAR
NING
Under no circumstances should the exhaust
system come into contact with flammable
materials such as dry grass or petrol ,for
example. Do not par kthe vehicle on dry grass-
lan dorh arvested grain fields. The hot exhaust
system could otherwise ignite the flammable
material and set the vehicle on fire.
To ensure that the vehicle is secured against
rolling away unintentionally:
R the electric parking brake must be applied.
R the transmission must be in position Pand
the key must be removed from the ignition
lock.
R on steep uphill or downhill gradients, turn
the fron twheels towards the kerb. Switching of
fthe engine
Important safety notes G
WARNING
Neve rswitch off the engine while the vehicle
is in motion.
There is no brake boost for the service brake
if the engine is not running. If the ignition is
switched off, there is also no power assis-
tance for the steering.
You will require considerably more effort to
steer and brake and you could therefore lose
control of the vehicle and cause an accident.
X Apply the electric parking brake.
X Shift the transmission to position P.
Using the key X
Turn the key to position 0in the ignition
lock and remove it.
The immobiliser is activated.
i If you switch the engine off with the trans-
mission in position Ror D,t he automatic
transmission shift stoNautomatically. 160
ParkingDriving and parking

G
WARNING
Make sure tha tother road user sare not
endang ered by your braking.
Downhill gradients On long and steep downhill gradients, espe-
cially if the vehicle is laden or towing
atrailer,
yo um ust select shift range 1,2or 3in good
time.
i This als oapplies if you have activated
cruise control, SPEEDTRONIC or DIS-
TRONIC PLUS.
This will use the braking effect of the engine,
so less braking will be required to maintain
the speed. This relieves the load on the brake
system and prevents the brakes from over-
heating and wearing too quickly.
Heavy and light loads G
WARNING
Never depress the brak epeda lconti nuously
while the vehicle is in motion, e.g. never cause
the brakes to rub by apply ingc onstant slight
pedal pressure. This causes the brake system
to overheat, increases the brakin gdistance
and can lead to the brakes failing completely.
If the brakes have been subjected to aheavy
load, do not stop the vehicle immediately ,but
drive on for ashort while. This allow sthe air-
flo wtoc ool the brakes mor equickly.
If the brakes have been used only moderately,
you should occasionally test their effective-
ness. To do this, brake more firmly from a
higher speed. This improves the grip of the
brakes.
Wet road surface If driving in heavy rain for
aprolonged period
of time without braking, there may be a
delayed reaction from th ebrake swhen brak-
ing for the first time. This ma yalso occur after
the vehicle has been washed. You have to depress the brake pedal more
firmly. Maintain
agreater distance from the
vehicl einfront.
After driving on awet road or havin gthe vehi-
cle washed, brake firml ywhile paying atten-
tion to the traffic conditions. This will warm
up the brake discs, thereby drying them more
quickly and protectin gthem against corro-
sion.
Limited braking perfo rmance on salt-
treated roads G
WARNING
The layer of salt on the brake discs and the
brake pads/linings may cause adelay in the
braking effect ,resultin ginas ignifican tlyl on-
ger brakin gdistance, which could lead to an
accident.
To avoid this danger, you should:
R occasionally brake carefully, without put-
ting other road users at risk, when you are
drivin gons alted roads. This helps to
remove any salt that may have started to
build up on the brake discs and the brake
pads/linings.
R maintain agreater distance to th evehicle
ahead and driv ewith particular care.
R carefully apply the brakes at the end of a
trip and immediately after commencing a
new trip, so that salt residues are removed
from the brake discs.
New brake pads/linin gs G
WARNING
New brak epads/linings only reach their opti-
mum braking effect after several hundred kil-
ometres of driving. Before this optimum brak-
ing effect is reached, you shoul dcompensate
for the reduced brakin geffect by applying
greate rpressure when braking .This also
applies after the brake discs or the brake
pads/linings hav ebeen replaced.
For safety reasons, Mercedes-Benz recom-
mends that you only have brak epads/linings Driving tips
163Drivingand parking Z

Off-road driving
Important safet ynotes G
WARNING
Driv eslowly in rough terrain with which you
are unfamiliar. This will allow you to detect
unexpected obstacles more easily and, there-
fore, to reduce the risk of an accident.
Do not make U-turns on mountain roads. Oth-
erwise, the vehicle could tip over. If aslope is
too steep for the vehicle, drive back in reverse
gear.
Do not drive at an angle up steep inclines.
Otherwise, the vehicle could tip over. If you
drive up asteep incline at an angle and the
vehicle threatens to overturn, stee rinto the
line of fall immediately.
Never allo wthe vehicle to roll backwards. The
brakin geffect of the engine canno tbeu tilised
in neutral. If you only use the service brake,
you could los econtrol of the vehicle. G
WARNING
Grains of sand, particles of dirt and other
abrasiv ematerials can enter the brake sys-
tem. This can lead to excessive wear and
unpredictable braking efficiency.
After the brakes have been expose dtodirty
conditions ,have them checked and cleaned
at aq ualified specialist workshop ,e.g. a
Mercedes-Benz Service Cent re.O therwise,
there is arisk that braking power may be
insufficient in the event of an emergency, or
that the braking effec tmay be unpredictable. G
WARNING
Damage to the vehicle creates the risk of an
accident for yourself and other road users. If
in doubt, have your vehicle chec kedataq uali-
fied specialist workshop which has the nec-
essary specialist knowledg eand tool stocarry
out the work required. Mercedes-Benz rec-
ommends that you use aMercedes-Benz
Servic eCentr efor this purpose. General notes Read this section befor
edriving your vehicle
off- road. Practise by travelling over more gen-
tle off-road terrain first.
The following driving systems are specially
adapted to off-road driving:
R Off-road program (vehicles without the
ON&OFFROAD package) (Y page 222)
R Off-road program 1and 2(vehicles wit hthe
ON&OFFROAD package) (Y page 222)
R LOW RANGE off-road gear (vehicles with
the ON&OFFROAD package)
(Y page 223)
R Differential lock (vehicles wit hthe
ON&OFFROAD package) (Y page 223)
R Off-road AB S(Ypage 61)
R Off-road 4ETS (Y page 64)
R Off-road ESP ®
(Y page 65)
R AIRMATI Cpackag e(veh icle level)
(Y pag e188)
R DSR (Downh illS peed Regulation)
(Y page 220)
Observe the following notes:
R stop your vehicle and, if necessary, select
the off-road program (Y page 222)orthe
LOW RANGE off -road gear (Y page 223)
befor edriving off-road.
R select avehicle level suitable for the off-
road ter rain. Make sure ther eisalways suf-
ficien tground clearance to prevent dam-
ag etot he vehicle.
R chec kthat item sofluggage and loads are
stowe dsafely and are well secured
(Y page 300).
R always keep the engine running and in gear
when driving on adownhil lgradient. Acti-
vate DSR (Y page 220).
R drive slowly and evenly ,ifnecessar yata
walking pace.
R ensure that the wheels are in contact with
the ground at all times.
R drive with extreme care on unknown off-
road routes where visibility is poor. For 166
Driving tipsDriving and parking